Bruins Win 40th Game of Season in 4-1 Victory over Nashville

The Bruins have now won two in a row to keep peace in a tight Eastern Conference playoff race. Tuukka Rask returned in net after missing last Saturday’s game against the Islanders. Rask made 24 of 25 saves in the win as Bruins used four different goal scorers.

The Bruins hosted Nashville at TD Garden in the final matchup between these two teams. Former Hab, P.K Subban made his first appearance on the Garden ice since joining his new team. Bruins fans did not seem to notice at first because it too a shift of two for Subban to be rained down with boo birds.

The first period was al Boston as the Bruins jumped on them early. With Nashville playing on back to back nights, they came out to the game sluggish. The Bruins were able to score two first period goals and get an early lead. Patrice Bergeron started the scoring just 2:28 into the game. Brad Marchand dropped it back to Zdeno Chara. Chara took a shot from the point that was deflected. Bergeon found the rebound and was able to beat Predators goalie Pekka Rinne. The goal was Bergeron’s first goal in 10 games. With an assist, Chara collected his 600th career point.

David Krejci, who was questionable to play with an upper body injury, gave the Bruins a two goal cushion a little over 10 minutes later. Krejci left practice on Monday and did not skate Tuesday morning for pregame skate. Krejci ended up playing and made a difference. David Pastrnak hit Krejci in stride and sent him in on a partial break. Krejci’s shot was able to sneak through the legs of Rinne for the two goal lead. It was Krejci’s 22nd goal of the season and he is now just one shy of his career high 23.

The Bruins took the lead into the second period as the playing field evened out more. The Predators woke up after a sluggish first and gave the Bruins a period in the second. Rask was able to stand tall in the second and not allow Predators to score.

With the Bruins just 20 minutes away from the win, they seemed to be stuck on their heels. Predators came out hard in the third period and kept the puck in the Bruins end for the most part. They even made things more interesting by making it a one goal game. Craig Smith scored his 10th of the year just over the halfway mark of the third period. Smith got right in front of Rask and made a sweet deflection that snuck between Rask’s legs. Rask was looking at a routine save until the deflection.

After a flurry of chances from Nashville to tie the game, the Bruins were able to regain their two goal lead. Subban pinched from the point and got caught in the offensive zone. This allowed Riley Nash to steal the puck and head in 3-on-1. Nash made a slick move to his backhand and found Noel Acciari back door. Acciari lifted the puck over Rinne for his first National Hockey League goal of his career. His first goal was a big one as the Bruins never looked back from here.

Down by two, the Predators pulled their goalie to try and tie the game. With just a minute and half left, David Backes put the nail in the coffin by scoring an empty net goal. Up by two goals, he was able to take a chance from his own end and buried it into the open cage. The goal was Backes 17th of the season.

On the next faceoff, the game started to turn sour as the Predators fourth line was looking to stir the pot. Vernon Fiddler was trying to get at Nash and drop the gloves. Then Cody McLeod was sticking his gloves in players faces until Kevan Miller stepped up and fought him. Miller, McLeod, Nash, Acciari, and Fiddler were all kicked off the ice to keep the game in check.

The Bruins were able to secure the win and get the two points. The Bruins will look to make it three straight wins as they will stay home for a game on Thursday. Tyler Seguin and the Dallas Stars will be in town. Puck drop is at 7:30PM.

Michael Settipani joined CLNS Radio in July 2015 as a Bruins Beat columnist. Since then, Michael has also joined the Red Sox Beat team, and started the Bruins Beat podcast. In addition, Michael is a sports productions professional, and has held positions at HockeyTech Inc., Entercom Communications and NESN.

Michael is a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University where he obtained a B.A. in Communications.